matching hearts ━ r. lupin

: ̗̀➛ PROLOGUE

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄
*ੈ✩‧₊˚

The stares that Aquarius received as she walked through Platform 9 3/4 spiked her nerves to heights only her mother could make her reach.

The wizards of the station parted as the Black family walked through the platform. The two twins, Aquarius and Sirius, stood side by side, the same grim expression on their faces as their mother gripped their shoulders.

Behind them and next to their mother was their father. Orion Black was rarely seen with his children outside of the occasional soiree his wife hosted. The children were forbidden from these gatherings until they reached what many wizards believed to be the ripest age of a child.

It was only following Aquarius's and Sirius's eleventh birthdays that they were allowed to involve themselves in such mature affairs.

It was also that summer, as they played under the scorching sun at the French Estate, that two owls approached the manor bearing the two letters that would change the twins' lives eternally.

Regulus was not happy about their leaving. He stood next to his father, two paces behind the twins. As the spare son, the position behind his two siblings was one he was used to.

Wizards and witches stared as they passed by. Some frowned at them, at their pristine robes and high-held heads. More familiar ones, like the Rosiers and the Averys, nodded a polite greeting.

Many averted their gazes entirely.

Aquarius frowned as they walked, subconsciously reaching out to grasp Sirius's hand. Her twin squeezed her hand gently, sending her a ghost of a smile.

They might have been walking for hours or just a few seconds longer before they reached the drop-off area. Aquarius felt Sirius begin his anxious squirming. He tapped his feet quickly as he scanned the platform full of unfamiliar people.

"I don't want you guys to go," Aquarius turned to face her brother with his lips downturned and eyebrows furrowed.

"Please don't go." Regulus pleaded. "You can get a tutor like me."

"We've grown out of tutors, Regulus," Sirius told him without actually looking at the boy.

Aquarius tugged his arm and he looked down at her. She shot him a judging gaze, trying to mentally communicate that he needed to be more sympathetic to Regulus. The boy had never been anywhere without trailing behind his two older siblings.

Sirius sighed and looked down at him. "If we were able to smuggle you in we definitely would."

"We'll be back before you know it," Aquarius added softly.

She attempted to move to hug him but hesitated at her mother's glare. She settled for a light squeeze of the shoulder instead.

Her mother spoke. "Remember what I told you. Anything—"

"—Anything other than Slytherin is unacceptable." The twins recited in unison.

Walburga nodded, seemingly satisfied. Aquarius flickered her eyes to her father.

Orion and Aquarius had always had a very particular relationship. Walburga was fine with leaving Aquarius with Kreacher or employing nannies and governesses to raise the girl. Her mother wasn't interested in spending any more time with her than she had to. Orion though, was different. He'd call her into his study as he worked and provide her with a novel or an enchanted chess board for entertainment. They'd occupy themselves in each other's company. He would check on her French, to ensure she wasn't getting lazy with her grammar. He'd teach her small simple spells that she could use once she got to Hogwarts. And sometimes, if she asked and he was in the right mood, he'd engulf her with tales about their family line and all of the wizards and witches that came before them.